Lakers' Gasol, Howard out indefinitely

LOS ANGELES (AFP) –

JaVale McGee of the Denver Nuggets knocks the ball away from Dwight Howard of the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on January 6, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. The news got even worse for the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, as the struggling NBA club announced that forward Pau Gasol and center Howard will be sidelined indefinitely with injuries.

The news got even worse for the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, as the struggling NBA club announced that forward Pau Gasol and center Dwight Howard will be sidelined indefinitely with injuries.

Both players were hurt Sunday in a home loss to Denver — the Lakers’ third straight defeat.

Howard, already playing with a sore right shoulder, suffered a torn labrum in the shoulder and will be re-examined in a week. Despite the injury, Howard tied his career-high with 26 rebounds in the defeat.

Gasol, who took an inadvertent elbow to the face from Denver center JaVale McGee in the fourth quarter and left the court with a bleeding cut on his nose, has a concussion.

Both Gasol and coach Mike D’Antoni had predicted Gasol would be ready for Tuesday’s game at Houston, but instead he won’t be travelling with the team.

Jordan Hill was also hurt in the loss to the Nuggets, and was to have his right hip examined by a doctor.

Sunday’s defeat was the Lakers’ fourth in five games, and Kobe Bryant, with 29 points, couldn’t avert it.

Fans who were disappointed when the club opted for D’Antoni rather than bringing former coach Phil Jackson back from retirement when they sacked Mike Brown in November voiced their displeasure.

Chants of “We Want Phil” again rang out in Staples Center, where the Lakers have now lost eight home games this season — one more than they did in all of the previous campaign.

“We’re not in a good place right now,” D’Antoni admitted, though he was trying to stay optimistic. “The hole’s not too big. Mathematically, we can still make the playoffs.”